Scaffolding clamp



March 26, 1929. w. MERRILL I I 1,706,301

SCAFFOLDING CLAMP Filed March 20, 1928 2 Z6 INVENTOR.

22 W/I/TA/Z'Y MtWfi/ZL.

ll/S TORNEYS.

Patented Mar. 26, 1929. I V

UNITED STATES PATENT orries.

wnrrnmr 11mm, or nnooxnnt, 1on1.

scmonnme cam.

Application as larch 20, ms. Serial n. 868,048.

, As incident to the modern practice of construct-ing buildings of stone, brick, concrete and other materials, it has become customary to use scafloldin composed of pipe sections or tubing instea of wooden joists and other wooden supports and connecting parts. The scaffolding thus constructed of pi cs 01'' tubes. must be capable of easy assem ly and be easily taken apart after the work is finished. Another most im ortant requirement of such scaffolding is sa ety to the masons or other workmenwho may of necessity have to stand upon the platforms carried by the scaffolding.

The pipes or tubes which, compose'the frame of such scafiolding are 'usuall connected together by certain clamps whic hold the pipes very rigidly at the points where the cross inhorizontal or vertical directions, must eliminate danger of slipping or breaking underthe-strains to which t ey are sub'ected. he object therefore, of this invention is to produce clamps for connecting the pipes or tubes of scaffolding so that they shall be very rigid in construction, very reliable in the material of which they are composed, and which at the same time may be cheaply and quickly manufactured without the necessity of accurate or extensive machine work.

Heretofore, in the manufacture of such scafiolding clamps, it has been usual to manufacture them of malleable iron, because the castings may be made quickly and of fairl strong material. The disadvantage of sue castings, however, is that they are not all uniformin texture and are liable to contain weak spots, such as caused b blowholes, sand, and uneven flowing or coo ing of the metal. In view of these disadvantages, it is extremely desirable to have the parts composing the scaffolding clamps made of forge iron, steel or some slmilar material, but, owing to the difliculty of forgin or shaping the complicated clamps of t e type heretofore used,

1t is not feasible to const not such clamps from forged metal by the drop forging method. a

According to my invention, however, I have devised a scaffolding clamp which may be immediately and quickly shaped by the drop forging method and ma quickly be assembled into its a] form in such a way that unreliability due to flaws or other defects is substantially eliminated. As

one embodiment and exam le of this invention, reference may be ha to the following easily and description and to the accompanying drawin forming part thereof, in' which ig. 1 is a side elevation of one form of my proved scaffolding as applied to the pipes or tubes with which it is used; Fig. 2 is a vertical cross-sectional View similar to Fig. 1. V Referring to the drawings, the numerals 1 and 2 indicate the pipes to be clamped in position and forming a connected portion of a scaffolding or similar structure. The connecting rtions of these clamps comprise two seml-tubular members'or shells 3 and 4 which are provided with lateral bosses 5 and 6. Obviously the semi-tubular members may be made'of an desired shape-to hold the struts of the scaflb lding whether the latter be round, sguare or angular in cross-section, the usual s ape, however, being semi-cylindrical.

The margins of said bosses are preferably provided with interlocking projections 7 and 8 formin teeth arranged in the shape of crowns ,w ich adapt the two sections or parts ous angles, de n ing upon t 'e number of teeth provide The crown' 6 is provided with a central transverse opening as indicated in' Fig. 2, and the crown 5 is provided with a stud or projection 9 referably having a central recess in its en said projection being headed or expanded at its lower end by a suitable punch or other pressure device, so that the two parts forming the connecting members are firmly fixed or riveted together. Each of the semise lindrieal portions 3 and 4 are provided wi lateral members 11 and 12 respectively, forming pivots for screwthreaded bolts 13 and 14 upon which butterfly or other suitable nuts 15 and 16 areplaced.

The outer semi-cylindrical clamping members 19 and 20 are also provided with slotted rojections 25 and 26 through which the bolts 3' and 14 ass, and when the pipes are placed between t e semi-cylindrical members 3 and 19 or 4 and -20 the butterfly nuts: may be screwed down t' htly to force the outer semicylindrical mem rstoward the inner ones, and thus firmly clamp the pipes in position.

Said semi-cylindrical members 3 and 4 are also provided with lateral projections alon their op ite margins, as indicated at 1 and 18, ese rtions forming one-half of a hinged j oint w ich pivotally retains the outer semi-cyindrical clampin members 19 and 1 20 in position, the latter ving similar projections 21 and 22 provided for that purpose. These hinged joints are pivoted together by suitable pins 23 and 24.

Havin thus described this form of my invention, 1t will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that various changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention as set forth in the appended claims.

What I claim and desire to ters Patent is i 1. A scafi'oldin clamp comprising two protect by Letsemi-tubular mem rs connected together intermediate their ends, one of said members havin a transverse opening therein and a lurahty of teeth at the margin of said openmg and the other of said members having a laterally projecting stud adapted to enter said opening and having a plurality of teeth adjacent the base of said stud, said members constituting dro forgings shaped independently of each other, and connectedtogether at the desired angle with said teeth intermeshing, by displacing the metal so that they constitute a substantially unitary structure, and external clamping members hinged to said connected members.

2. A scafioldin clamp comprising two semi-tubular mem ers connected together intermediate theirends, one of said members havin a transverse opening therein and a plurallty of teeth at the margin of said openmg and the other of said members having a laterally projecting stud adapted to enter said opening and havin a plurality of teeth ad'acent the base of saii l stud, said members bemg shaped independentlyvof each other, and connected together at the desired angle with said teeth interme'shing, by having said stud fixed in said opposite member so that they constitute a substantially unitary structure, and external clamping members hinged to said connected members.

WHITNEY MERRIIiL. 

